Insightful Musings on the Scripturesby
Ray Sparre, NU class of '67
Ray has a wealth of experience as a Husband, Father, Pastor, Missionary, and student of the Word. He believes and practices his faith where the rubber meets the road. You'll find his writings to be practical, insightful, and grounded in a truly Christ-centered world view.
Below are links to a printable daily Bible reading guide which Ray has followed, and an archive of all his daily devotional writings for 2010 and 2011.
| Daily Reading Guide | 2011 Devotion Archives | 2010 Devotion Archives |
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21 April 2011
Good morning, dear people.
Wow! Too late! Even though I was up about 3:30am, I’ve run out of time to allow a jog. And that has been put off lately a good deal more than I would like. I need to get out and stir up some sawdust—make some, that is. I have a guy slated to come with a couple logs to be milled at 1pm, and there is a lot of stuff to do before that.
I honestly hope you will have a great good day.
Love, Dad/Ray
21 April 2011
Proverbs 21
Focus: “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.” Proverbs 21:9.
I would guess that you’re wondering right away what in the world I’m going to do with this one! So am I! Let me acknowledge, first of all, that male domination seems to run deep in world cultures, including the Judeo-Christian community. That is reflected in the fact that nowhere in Proverbs do you hear the principle stated the other way around, even though it is also a well-established fact that a quarrelsome husband can cause just as much hell for a wife as a quarrelsome wife can for a husband—maybe more! So to balance the thought with this principle, I believe it reads valid and well to say, “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome MATE.” And be assured that the Biblical standard is for ORDER, not SUPERIORITY.
Something else runs deep in human culture—STUPID. I venture to say that every married person in every place in all time had a desire to have a happy marriage. Hey!—get a life!—and please give up on the idea that your mate is supposed to possess an attractive differently-arranged body, but basically be just like you—think like you, behave like you, and be passionate about pleasing you. Give up on the notion that your lives together are supposed to be wall-to-wall ease and blissful intimacy with an orchestra background. Above all, give up on the idea that you can bring the whole deal closer to your ideal by quarreling! Sorry—but that’s just plain STUPID! Yet the notion is as common as potatoes.
As I give more time to this arena of thought, I think I could get carried away and stir up a lot more dust than this. But maybe I’ll just call your attention once again to the Biblical ideal contained in Ephesians 4:31 and 32. Note that there is no gender or role-playing specifications applied here. You can be sure that something akin to the ideal (which truly is more of an ongoing process than an event) IF both husband and wife are embracing and submissive to this same standard. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.”
For your homework assignment, review the checklist of the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT as contained in Galatians 5:22-25. If these qualities are required of all believers, do you think they might have any influence on marriages and homes?
“When a man and woman marry, they become one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one.”